Review of labelling, nutrition panels and front-of-pack warnings

What we review on the label

• Mandatory information. Name of the food, ingredient list, net content, identification of the responsible party, batch, expiry or minimum durability date, and storage and use instructions.
• Allergens. Declaration of the ingredients that must be flagged and handling of cross-contamination warnings, which cannot be used as a blanket shield across the whole portfolio.
• Nutrition panel. Consistency between the declared serving, the values reported and what the product analysis actually shows.
• Front-of-pack warning seals. Whether the product requires them and how they must appear, within the framework of Law 2120 of 2021 and Resolution 810 of 2021 as amended.
• Nutrition and health claims. Source of, high in, reduced in, free from: each one requires analytical support that has to exist before it is printed, not afterwards.
• Marketing wording. Natural, artisanal, homemade, no preservatives, no added sugar, suitable for. They look harmless and they generate the most complaints.

The cross-check almost nobody runs

A useful review does not only compare the label against the rules. It also compares it against two other things: the product's health file and what the company can actually prove. A formula changed on the plant floor and never reflected on the label, a declared serving that does not match the one analysed, or a marketing claim with no study behind it are frequent and entirely avoidable findings. That cross-check is the part of the work that prevents the expensive problems.

It is worth remembering why this matters: under Law 1480 of 2011, the information placed on the pack binds whoever placed it there. What was written to sell can end up being an enforceable condition of the product.

The label travels to the digital channel too

What is published on the online store, the marketplace or the delivery app performs the same informational function as the pack, and frequently nobody reviews it. The product page, the photograph shown and the promotional copy all have to match the approved label. We review that content alongside the physical label, because a discrepancy between the two is one of the things a consumer spots and documents first.

Imported labels and translated text

The label that works in another country almost never works in Colombia as it stands. Ingredient categories, units, additive names, permitted claims and the treatment of seals all change. We review the translation and the adaptation of the artwork, and decide what can be solved with a complementary label and what forces a redesign of the pack before the container is shipped.

How we deliver the review

1. We receive the final artwork or the printing proof, together with the technical sheet, the nutritional analysis and the product's health file.
2. We mark each finding on the artwork itself, separating what must be corrected before printing from what can be adjusted at the next print run.
3. We propose replacement wording. We do not deliver objections without alternative drafting, because the marketing team needs to keep working.
4. We put in writing what support the company must keep for each claim and who inside the organisation is responsible for maintaining it.

What the client receives

• The reviewed artwork, with findings marked and ranked by urgency.
• Alternative wording for every point that has to be corrected.
• A list of the technical support behind each claim on the label.
• Short rules so marketing and quality can review the next labels without starting from scratch each time.

Typical situations we handle

• A brand is about to print new packaging and wants it reviewed before the production order is released.
• An importer has to adapt to Colombia the label of a line already sold in other markets.
• The company changed the formula or an ingredient supplier and does not know whether the label still holds.
• A retail chain or institutional customer requires the labels to be reviewed before accepting the product on shelf.
• A consumer or a competitor challenges a claim on the pack and a decision is needed on the printed inventory.